Ode to a Shabby Room
Zhang Mo

The silverfish
slowly
paint
on the spines of traditional
string-bound books
Andersen’s Fairy Tales, which stands to one side
and
Mickey Mouse, who fights indefatigably for justice

ferociously savor
the silent aroma of alcohol
and Li He serenely
dozes how many times
and Ryunosuke Akutagawa gleefully tosses away
a fool’s life

night surges
through a small path in Neihu
the name of which is of no consequence
violently I bite chunk after chunk
out of my own shadow